The murder victim before the deadly San Francisco Bay Area police chase has been identified.
The fatal chain of events started in Oakland on Sunday when a woman driving a gray Toyota Camry was carjacked in Oakland by two men at gunpoint, and the duo drove the stolen car to San Joaquin County.
Around 10 p.m., a 23-year-old woman was shot to death while waiting for her boyfriend to pick her up from work in Manteca.
She is identified as Ashley Waters of Stockton.
According to Waters’ sister, the assailants pointed a gun at Waters, demanding her car keys and money. Waters attempted to escape by driving away but the men fired shots through her car window.
The Manteca Police Department said the injured Waters stumbled into a Planet Fitness gym and asked for help. Unfortunately, she collapsed and succumbed to the gunshot wounds.
The suspects fled in the stolen Toyota earlier that day in Oakland.
The Manteca Police Department issued a “Be On The Lookout” alert for the getaway car to California law enforcement agencies.
Shortly before 2 a.m. on Monday, the Alameda County Sheriff’s deputies saw the car near A Street in Hayward and a high-speed pursuit ensued on Interstate-880.
“The driver exited the highway and continued to evade capture as he drove at a high rate of speed through the city of San Leandro. As the vehicle drove westbound on Davis Street, the San Leandro Police Department deployed a tire deflation device to immobilize the vehicle. The driver attempted to drive around the device, lost control of the vehicle and collided head-on with a tree,” Sheriff’s Lt. Tya Modeste wrote.
The two men in the front seat of the Toyota were knocked unconscious from the impact and a 14-year-old girl trapped in the backseat was pulled out before the vehicle burst into flames.
Once the fire was put out, the firefighters found a gun inside the vehicle.
Anyone with information about the Manteca homicide is urged to call the Manteca Police Department at 209-456-8212 or email gmorrison@manteca.gov.
